North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork Sandwich with Lexington Coleslaw

Barbecue is a noun and in North Carolina it is defined as pulled pork with a distinctive tangy vinegar sauce—no sweet tomato sauce allowed! The pork is either “pulled” into pieces or chopped with a meat clever, dressed with the sauce and served on a cheap white hamburger bun topped with slaw that is simply chopped green cabbage dressed with the same vinegar sauce.

Remove pork from wrapper. Do not trim any excess fat off the meat, this fat will naturally baste the meat and keep it moist during the long cooking time. Brush pork with a thin coating of Olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside on a clean tray until ready to cook.

Before placing the meat on the grill, add soaked wood chips. Place chips directly on white-gray ash briquettes or in the smoking box of your gas grill. For more tips on smoking on a gas grill, see sidebar. If using a charcoal grill, you will need to add charcoal every hour to maintain the heat.

Place pork in the center of the cooking grate fat-side up. Cook slowly for 4 to 5 hours at 325-350°F, or until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the middle of the pork registers 190°F-200°F. The meat should be very tender and falling apart. If there is a bone in the meat, it should come out smooth and clean with no meat clinging to it. (This is the real test for doneness on the barbecue circuit.) Remember, there is no need to turn the meat during the entire cooking time.

Let meat rest for 20 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Using rubber food-service gloves, pull meat from the skin, bones and fat. Set aside any crispy bits (fat) that has been completely rendered and looks almost burned. Working quickly, shred the chunks of meat with two forks by crossing the forks and “pulling” the meat into small pieces from the roast. Alternately, you can chop the meat with a cleaver if you prefer. Chop the reserved crispy bits and mix into the pulled pork.

While the meat is still warm, mix with enough Lexington-Style BBQ Sauce (recipe follows) to moisten and season the meat, about ¾ cup.

The recipe can be made in advance up to this point and reheated with about ¼ cup additional sauce in a double boiler or heated in the oven in a closed casserole or covered with aluminum foil. I do not suggest microwaving any barbecue.

Serve sandwich style on a white hamburger bun and top with North Carolina Coleslaw (recipe follows). Serve additional sauce on the side, if desired.

½-1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (the more flakes, the hotter the sauce*)

2 tablespoons white sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ cup ketchup

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together and let sit at least 10 minutes or almost indefinitely in the refrigerator. (*Note, the longer the sauce sits, the hotter it gets since the heat from the red pepper flakes is brought out by the vinegar. Start with ½ tablespoon red pepper flakes and then add more to taste. ) Lexington (North Carolina) Coleslaw